A Lithuanian communications official reports that Russia has significantly expanded its capability to disrupt GPS signals across large portions of Europe, with interference now extending up to 280 miles from Russian territory.
According to Darius Kuliesius, deputy head of Lithuania’s communications regulator, Russia has dramatically increased its GPS “spoofing” equipment in the Kaliningrad region from just three antennas in early 2025 to 36 currently operating. These devices transmit false location data designed to confuse navigation systems.
The equipment operates from Kaliningrad, a heavily fortified Russian territory located between NATO members Lithuania and Poland along the Baltic Sea.
“The occasional interference began with the 2023 NATO summit in Vilnius. Now they have built up the infrastructure and the interference has become systemic, permanent, unending Russian provocation against European security,” Kuliesius stated.
Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, European countries have repeatedly alleged electronic interference from Moscow, though President Vladimir Putin’s administration rejects these claims, attributing them to Western smear campaigns.
The Russian embassy in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius did not provide an immediate response to requests for comment, though Moscow has consistently denied similar allegations previously.
Lithuanian regulatory data shows the GPS disruption potentially affects Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, most of Poland, portions of Finland, Sweden, Belarus, and Baltic Sea waters within the 280-mile range.
Several high-profile incidents have occurred, including GPS interference experienced by a Spanish military aircraft carrying Defence Minister Margarita Robles near Kaliningrad, and jamming of a plane transporting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen while traveling to Bulgaria.
Both Estonia and Finland have also attributed GPS navigation disruptions in regional airspace to Russian interference.
Despite these disruptions, most commercial aircraft and major airports maintain multiple navigation backup systems when GPS becomes unreliable.
Kuliesius noted that mobile phone service quality near Kaliningrad suffers due to frequency interference, with notable increases during Ukrainian drone operations against Russia.
“Online bus schedules in Klaipeda stop working during the spikes, because they rely on tracking buses by GPS,” he explained, referencing a community located 30 miles from the Kaliningrad border.
